Energy dispersive x-ray diffraction in the diamond anvil, high-pressure apparatus: Comparison of synchrotron and conventional x-ray sources

An analysis is given of the rate at which photons are incident on a sample in a diamond anvil high-pressure cell, from a conventional, fixed-anode source, and a synchrotron source. Comparison is then made of the rate at which photons can be detected for an energy-dispersive diffraction experiment. The rate at which photons are detected in synchrotron experiments is limited by detector electronics, so that the relative photon detection rate is considerably lower than theoretically possible.